about
Warning: include(/var/www/mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm04/shared/mtm04_about_links.inc) [function.include]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /var/www/ExpressionEngine1.6.1/sites/ee.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm04/archives/media_that_matters_and_mediarights.php on line 151
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening '/var/www/mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm04/shared/mtm04_about_links.inc' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/share/pear:/usr/share/php') in /var/www/ExpressionEngine1.6.1/sites/ee.mediathatmattersfest.org/mtm04/archives/media_that_matters_and_mediarights.php on line 151
Media That Matters and MediaRights
The Festival
Corporate Accountability, Culture-jamming, Sustainable Agriculture, Civil Liberties — these topics and more are tackled by MediaRights' fourth annual Media That Matters Film Festival. Starting May 18th, 2004, the Festival brings high-impact shorts and Take Action tools to audiences around the country, all year long. The Festival's film and video shorts, digital stories and new media stream online, tour the country through community screenings, and hit the airwaves on cable and satellite television channels. A Festival DVD with added special features will be available for educators and activists in August 2004.
MediaRights held its open call for entries in November and received hundreds of inspiring entries from producers all over the United States. Also in Novermber MediaRights and its new Youth Media Distribution site (YMDi.org) launched the See Change, Make Change Youth Media Distribution Contest. The contest gives young people an opportunity to submit videos and digital stories on the issues that they care about most.
The Media That Matters Film Festival final selections were chosen by a jury of accomplished filmmakers, activists, journalists, artists, television programmers, teachers and young people. Every official selection received a special award at the Festival Awards Ceremony, many of which include a one thousand dollar cash grant for further outreach and distribution efforts. All the winners also received a one-year subscription to Netflix and membership to the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers. Festival filmmakers are seasoned professionals as well as talented youth media producers with important stories to tell. You can read about their creative processes by visiting the Festival's film info pages.
The Festival kicked off in New York City with a premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on May 18th and an Awards Ceremony at HBO headquarters on May 19th. From June 11th-13th a computer installation at Lincoln Center will celebrate the Festival's online premiere during the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.
After its New York debut the Media That Matters Traveling Festival comes to a different city every month with a screening and discussion hosted by one of our partners. To find out when the Festival is showing in your community, visit the Festival's screenings page. Your town not on the list? You can host your own event by ordering a copy of the Festival DVD. Activists and teachers will be able to download study guides and learn how to organize an event.
Also new to this year's Festival is the Just Media Project. Media policy is a vital and pressing issue that affects those who make media as well as those who watch it. In the hopes of bridging the gap between media makers and media reformers and to raise awareness about this critcial issue, the Just Media project honors individuals on the frontline of the media policy debate. Check out the Just Media section of this site to learn about award winners, watch additional films and lend your voice to the fight for media democracy.
Previous Festivals:
second annual Media That Matters Film Festival
first annual Media That Matters Film Festival
MediaRights
The Media That Matters Film Festival is a project of MediaRights, a nonprofit organization that connects filmmakers, activists, educators and youth through a variety of Web-based and offline projects. By developing relationships between filmmakers and nonprofits, MediaRights promotes the exhibition of documentaries in a wide range of community venues. MediaRights.org features the nation's most comprehensive database of issue-oriented films and provides educators and librarians with powerful tools to create media curricula, curate audio/visual collections, and use film more effectively in the classroom. More than 70,000 visitors come to MediaRights each month making the site one of the most vibrant online centers for community/filmmaker collaboration.
MediaRights' youth media distribution site, YMDi.org is an online community for youth media makers and their instructors. With a database of youth-produced film, video, new media and digital stories, YMDi brings attention to the next generation of artists and activists. The site includes a Youth Media Distribution Toolkit and an Instructors' Toolkit — online guides that cover topics ranging from audience building to copyright to do-it-yourself strategies for making youth media matter.
If you are looking for the Media That Matters Hollyhock Conference, you can
find it at MediaThatMatters.org.